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| Compact fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury. |
We have done it with the traditional light bulbs, and old habits are hard to break, right?
But compact fluorescent and fluorescent bulbs sold at major retailers have been classified as hazardous household waste because most of them contain mercury, a chemical element that is extremely toxic and needs to be handled with care.
Consequently, garbage collectors across the UK are now refusing to pick up the light bulbs.
Workers concerned with toxic vapors
According to the article in the Daily Mail, a study by Germany’s Federal Environment Agency found that when one of the light bulbs breaks, it emits levels of toxic vapor up to 20 times higher than the safe guideline limit for an indoor area.
In most residential areas, including the US and Canada, fluorescent light bulbs should be disposed of in a special hazardous waste collection or recycling dump in the area.
Fluorescent lights now common in homes and offices
The compact fluorescent light bulbs have been gaining popularity because they provide a greener option to traditional light bulbs. Compared to incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less power and have a longer rated life.
In the United States, a CFL has a higher purchase price than an incandescent lamp, but can save over US$40 in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime.
What to do in case of a mercury spill
Mercury is a metal that is liquid at room temperature. Mercury and most of its compounds are extremely toxic and are generally handled with care. It is used in lighting: electricity passed through mercury vapor in a phosphor tube produces short-wave ultraviolet light which then causes the phosphor to fluoresce, making visible light.
Mercury can cause both chronic and acute poisoning. If a bulb is smashed, the UK’s Health Protection Agency advice is for householders to evacuate the room and leave it to ventilate for 15 minutes.
People should wear protective gloves while wiping the area of the break with a damp cloth and picking up fragments of glass, which should be placed in a plastic bag and sealed. Vacuum cleaners and brooms should not be used because they cause greater dispersal of the mercury.
You can sprinkle sulfur powder or zinc powder over the area and subsequently collect and properly dispose of the substance. Cleaning porous surfaces and clothing is not effective at removing all traces of mercury and it’s best to discard these kinds of items should they be exposed to a mercury spill.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1363448/We-pick-toxic-new-bulbs-Councils-say-energy-saving-lights-dangerous-binmen.html#
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